


Why she left.

by Little_buttercup



Series: Nereval and Nerevar [24]
Category: Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 12:13:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14188737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_buttercup/pseuds/Little_buttercup





	Why she left.

"I can't believe she asked me to do this! The only... being... That has given me wise advice and words and has helped me, instead of being sneaky and.. and... Bitchy about everything I do!" 

The thunderous steps made Nereval look up from where she sat, her mouth open as she was about to fill it with some warm soup the cook had made for them that night. 

"Fucking Blades. Fuck them, I'm not doing this, I refused to do this! He hasn't done anything wrong, the monks have been extremely welcoming and have fed me and kept me under their wings to learn until I could go to him. How dare they!" 

She sat back and hummed, dropping her spoon back into the soup, and slightly smug that the awful words she had taught Aidrian were falling out his mouth, "Ah, the Blades. Sneaky little sneaks with no regards to our feelings." 

Aidrian whirled onto her, anyone else would have flinched from his furious look, but she simply stared back at him. The fierce fire in his eyes was something she was used to seeing.

"What do you mean? How could you have dealt with them before?!"

"Aidrian, I am the Nerevarine. I was part of the Blades, technically I still am. I was a tool to their little plots and games." 

He relaxed slightly, and she pushed a bowl towards him, "Sit down, get some warm food in your belly. Yes, I will tell you what happened, just relax for a moment. They might be pestering you but they don't have anything against you to make you do anything you don't, rightfully, want to do." 

The Altmer sat down and sighed, breaking some bread and dipping it into the soup, then he stuffed his mouth full. He never realizes how hungry he really is until he gets the chance to eat. And having his own cook in the cozy Manor was handy. Once Nereval was sure he wasn't going to stand up and burn a hole into the floor with his furious pacing again, she kept her relaxed posture against the chair and huffed. 

"I get what you're going through. The blades are, or were, the spy network under some Emperor with a fancy name I can't remember, and with his... Blessing, shall we call it, I was sent to Vvardenfell. Before you even think about moaning to me, I had no idea that I was going to be roped into joining the blades, alright? I had no choice. I was just a kid who was starving and desperate for a place to stay. So I was told by Caius Cosades, and I'm probably breaking a shit load of rules here, to make a cover for myself. Freelance adventurer, join a Great house or a Guild, or whatever fancied me. I got training with the money he gave me and some decent food that was actually nutritious. And I had no idea that there were laws against what I did. He sent me to people who owed him favors, and they sent me to basically go grave robbing, raiding a Dwemer ruin and even helping a necromancer. If you know the Dunmer, even Imperial Laws, that is very illegal and against everything they stand for. So even from the start, if I had told Caius where to stick his jobs he could have ruined me completely and probably get me executed. I didn't even realize until later on, when there was a bounty on my head, the 'Imperial Spy'." 

Aidrian stared at his bowl, silent for a few long moments before he replied in a small voice. "I had no idea the blades were like that." 

Nereval shrugged in response, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She had taken up to braid her hair away from her face, making it more manageable to tackle in the morning with a comb. "Nothing ever is as it seems, but they had such an impressive network they knew what was going to happen before it happen. Almost like foresight." 

It was then the Altmer perked up, turning to face her slowly, "Almost, almost like magic, right?" 

The dunmer slowly nodded in return, "Aye, but I've always put it down to them having spies to spy on their spies. Why? What did they tell you?" 

He shook his head, setting his barely touched soup away from him, "No, they didn't tell me much. But, the temple... That temple in the mountains I told you about? With Alduins wall? I remember seeing a brass structure, Dwemer for sure, but from what you told me about what happened in Red Mountain, they could have predicted it!" 

Nereval narrowed her eyes, "Possibly, but remember there were two. Numidium, known also as Anumidium, and Akulakhan. The first was destroyed, but I could be wrong as I was told by some old woman in Wayrest, by the Hero of Daggerfall, I think. And I destroyed Akulakhan. So you could be right or wrong. And it could also be magic. The Empire had their hands on Elder Scrolls, and with the right training they could see future events, it could be possible that they used one to see future threats to the Empire and decided to build a fuck off wall in the ass end of nowhere to solidify them." 

He snorted, tapping his fingers against the table absentmindedly, the fire in his gut was finally subsiding and he didn't feel as angry as before. "Yeah, you have a point." 

They sat in silence then, Aidrian lost in his own thoughts about the empire and Nereval tapping an old song she learned from the Ashlanders with her foot. It was a comfortable silence, with a fire crackling in the hearth. The Manor was sat next to a lake, with a view anyone would kill for. She had a million other important things to be doing, rather than sitting in the Dragonborns manor and reading books, but until he had defeated Alduin, she was content to stay put. 

The silence was broken when Aidrian turned to face her, "Why did you really leave Vvardenfell? I know you wanted to travel, but really? Like you said, you were told to make a cover story and that you did, with the trip to Akavir. Was the traveling also a cover story?"

She pursed her lips, it wasn't something she thought about in depth. Leaving seemed to be the right thing to do, otherwise she would have been ruling Morrowind with the way the nobles were acting. Not a very pleasant thought, with Helseth being the King back then. She was an opponent, she could have challenged him. But then there was also her status with the Blades, and Caius' words came back into her mind. 

"The spymaster told me once, that he didn't believe at first that I was the Nerevarine. But he admitted that he could see the benefits of having me in the Empires pocket. Who knows why, maybe to keep the Dunmer in check if something were ever to happen? I just didn't want to have that kind of power over the people I worked hard to save, even if they kicked and spat at me every chance they got. And no, the traveling was probably the truest part to the entire thing. I did want to go, to see the world. Or, Tamriel, in particular." 

"Ah, I see what you mean," He got up and stretched, "I'm heading to bed. Tomorrow is a new day, and I suggest you start getting proper rest too." He narrowed his eyes at her, "Considering you're always biting my ear off about rest. A bit hypocritical, no?"  

The only response he got was a snort. 


End file.
